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The 12 Nidānas are a series of causal links that explain the process of rebirth and the arising of suffering -- of samsara (endless cycling) and dukkha (constant disappointment) -- as well as the possibility of undoing this impersonal process to liberate oneself from the Wheel of Life and Death.

Within the ancient living Theravada Buddhist tradition preserved in Southeast Asia, the twelve nidanas are considered to be the most significant application of the principle of Dependent Origination.

The relationship between the links is not a linear causal process, each link giving rise to the next link. Instead, each link in the process arises in dependence upon multiple "causes and conditions" (Bhikkhu Bodhi, In the Buddha's Words, 2005, p.316).

The thrust of the formula is such that when certain conditions are present, they give rise to subsequent conditions, which in turn give rise to other conditions, and the cyclical nature of lifewithin the Wheel of Life and Death (through countless worlds within the 31 Planes of Existence) can be seen.

This is graphically illustrated in the Bhavacakra (Wheel of Life and Suffering), artistic depictions of the cycle we are trapped within.

The 12 links and their causal relationships can be expressed as follows:

In the Theravada Buddhist tradition, these 12 links are considered the most significant application of the principle of Dependent Origination -- the explanation of how all things come into existence and depend on conditions for their continued existence.

The following key teachings on this principle regarding the arising of suffering/disappointment are found in the Pali language sutras (Rupert Gethin, Foundations of Buddhism, Oxford U. Press):

Śāriputra’s introduction to the teaching of the Buddha was in the form of the following summary verse recited to him by the wandering ascetic Ven. Aśvajit (Assaji): "Of those dharmas/phenomena which arise from a cause, the Tathāgata (Buddha) has stated the cause, and also the cessation; such is the teaching of the Great Ascetic."

Idappaccayatā (translated as specific conditionality, this/that conditionality, etc.) is identified as a key expression of the doctrine of Dependent Origination (pratītyasamutpāda).It is expressed through this formula: ‘This existing, that exists; this arising, that arises; this not existing, that does not exist; this ceasing, that ceases’ [‘With the coming to be of this, that comes to be; without this, that does not come to be; with the cessation of this, that ceases.’] (MN 115, SN 55.27 or Dutiyānāthapiṇḍika Sutra, etc.) More

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